Developer Angelo K. Tsakopoulos and partners have sued Aerojet and other companies in a continuing dispute over groundwater contamination that they contend prevented their use of groundwater wells and cost them millions of dollars in fees to ensure off-site water was provided to property slated for development, as required by the county.

According to Environmental Defense Fund's Eric Pooley, there are five steps the president should take to address climate change — from what he says are no-brainer ideas almost everyone can agree on to ambitious items that would require Congressional action. He concludes that none will likely be successful without the active support and participation of the business community.

A half mile below the ground at Prudhoe Bay, above the vast oil field that helped trigger construction of the trans-Alaska pipeline, a drill rig has tapped what might one day be the next big energy source. The U.S. Department of Energy and industry partners over two winters drilled into a reservoir of methane hydrate, which looks like ice but burns like a candle if a match warms its molecules. There is little need now for methane, the main ingredient of natural gas. With the boom in production from hydraulic fracturing, the United States is awash in natural gas for the near future and is considering exporting it, but the DOE wants to be ready with methane if there's a need.

A top official with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is optimistic that a nationwide project examining natural gas hydraulic fracturing and potential drinking water impacts will provide comprehensive guidelines to help scientists and the public identify the key issues to focus on. But the industry said past studies have already shown the process is safe.

The failure last week of a California ballot initiative that would have mandated labeling of genetically modified foods is not a death knell for those seeking nationwide labeling, U.S. labeling proponents said. New state labeling initiatives are planned for Washington state and Oregon. Beyond that, the action now shifts to Washington, D.C. and efforts to force change at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which has primary regulatory oversight for food and food additives.

The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission shot down a request by environmental group Friends of the Earth to require a public hearing before deciding whether to allow Southern California Edison to resume operations at its troubled San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.

A Sierra Club lawsuit seeking tougher Environmental Protection Agency standards on emissions associated with gold mines was rejected by a federal appeals court, which found the agency properly limited its regulation to mercury pollutants. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington ruled that the EPA wasn’t required to set standards for so-called fugitive emissions while developing the “Gold Mine Rule.”

One of California's largest water providers can now reward customers who use the resource efficiently under a new plan approved by the state. California American Water Company's new tiered structure rolls out to customers in Sonoma, Ventura, Los Angeles and San Diego counties as part of a settlement with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The plan rewards customers who fix leaks, install water-efficient appliances, and avoid over-irrigating their lawns. Under the new structure, customers will pay less for using less water.

Cities in Los Angeles County face spending billions of dollars to clean up urban runoff that washes pollution into drains and coastal waters under storm water regulations approved by the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board.

A proposal that could have led to the dismantling of San Francisco’s water system in Yosemite National Park’s Hetch Hetchy Valley was roundly rejected by the city’s voters last week. The measure would have forced the city to formulate a plan to dismantle the dam, constructed in 1923, and improve local water conservation efforts. The plan would have gone before San Francisco voters as a charter amendment in November 2016.

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